SP-BSP alliance likely to be announced tomorrow; Akhilesh says learnt art of arithmetic from BJP

Kannauj: Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are expected to formally announce on Saturday their coalition for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls but ambiguity persisted on whether the Congress would be made part of a ‘grand alliance’.

On the eve of his joint press conference with BSP supremo Mayawati, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said the BJP, which the alliance intends to take on, has been using poll alliances for poll gains. “Whatever arithmetic we learnt from the BJP, we will implement it,” he said at an event here on Friday.

SP and BSP have been in talks for weeks with regard to forging of an alliance and a meeting between Yadav and Mayawati recently had triggered a lot of speculation about seat-sharing being firmed up. “The Samajwadi Party has to get its arithmetic right,” Yadav said.

To press his point that the alliance between SP and BSP would be beneficial , he cited the example of by elections held some months back in Gorakphur Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP was defeated despite it having been represented by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath several times.

There was, however, ambiguity over whether the Congress would be a part of the alliance, amid indications that the SP and BSP were not inclined to include the party.

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Ajit Singh said his party will also side with the SP-BSP partnership for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

However, he said there have been no talks of seat-sharing yet. On whether the Congress would also be a part of the alliance, Ajit Singh it will be decided by Akhilesh Yadva and Mayawati.

“We had our meeting with Akhilesh Ji. We are a part of the ‘grand alliance’, but we haven’t discussed seats yet,” the RLD president said.

Earlier, senior SP leader Prof Ram Gopal Yadav said: “BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav will decide with whom the ‘grand alliance’ has to be formed in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

“Everyone knows that there is going to be a grand alliance. In Uttar Pradesh, SP and BSP are the most important parties,” he added.

On the other hand, Adityanath on Friday took a jibe at the ‘grand alliance’ being firmed up in Uttar Pradesh, saying it is nothing but an attempt by the two parties to save their own existence. “The public knows the truth and they will vote accordingly,” the Chief Minister told reporters in New Delhi.

Among all the states, Uttar Pradesh has the maximum number of 80 Lok Sabha seats out the 543 and plays a crucial role in government formation in the Centre.